Genesis 47:22

Summary

The verse explains why Joseph did not acquire priestly land during the famine-driven land purchases: the priests received a fixed allowance directly from Pharaoh, and because they lived off that allowance rather than off agricultural income, they had no need to sell their land.

Key words

• rak ("only", H7535) — restrictive adverb placed first in the clause, singling out the priests' land as the sole exception to the pattern of land acquisition described earlier in the chapter.
• qanah ("he bought", H7069) — qal perfect, marking a completed action; the negated form lo qanah states that this acquisition did not happen, in contrast to Joseph's other land purchases.
• chok ("an allowance", H2706H) — masculine singular noun appearing twice (once absolute, once with the suffix chukkam, "their allowance"), denoting a fixed portion or statutory provision given by Pharaoh.
• asher natan ("which he gave", H0834A + H5414G) — relative clause with a qal perfect verb, specifying that the allowance's origin was Pharaoh's direct grant, not agricultural produce from their own land.
• lo makheru ("they did not sell", H3808 + H4376) — negated qal perfect, stating the resulting fact: the priests retained ownership of their land.

What the text says

The sentence opens with rak ("only"), which frames the entire verse as an exception clause within the broader narrative of Joseph's land acquisitions on behalf of Pharaoh. The construct phrase 'admat hakkohanim ("the land of the priests") is the object of the negated verb lo qanah ("he did not buy") — the subject is not named in the Hebrew of this clause but is understood from the surrounding narrative as Joseph. The causal particle ki introduces the reason: the priests had a chok ("allowance") me'et par'oh ("from Pharaoh"), using the compound preposition me'et ("from with") to indicate direct source.

The next clause, joined by the narrative ve- prefixed to 'akhlu ("and they ate"), continues the sequence with a sequential perfect describing an ongoing practice: the priests consumed chukkam ("their allowance"), further specified by the relative clause asher natan lahem par'oh ("which Pharaoh gave them"). The conclusion is marked by 'al-ken ("therefore"), a causal adverbial connector, leading to the final negated perfect lo makheru et-'admatam ("they did not sell their land") — a straightforward statement of result rather than compulsion.

Differences between versions

The LXX explicitly names the subject, adding "Ἰωσήφ" ("Joseph did not acquire it"), where the Hebrew leaves the subject unstated in this clause. The LXX also renders the allowance with doubled vocabulary, "ἐν δόσει... ἔδωκεν δόμα" ("he gave a gift as a grant"), more emphatically framing it as a gift than the Hebrew chok ("allowance/portion"), which carries a sense of fixed statutory provision. The Vulgate's final clause, "non sunt compulsi vendere" ("they were not compelled to sell"), introduces a notion of compulsion not present in the Hebrew lo makheru ("they did not sell"), which states the outcome without specifying absence of external pressure.